Habs Daily: Gallant Rumours, Hockey Hall of Fame, Caufield

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Monday.

Montreal Canadiens News

On Monday afternoon former Canadiens forward Georges Laraque suggested Kent Hughes and Martin St-Louis met with Gerard Gallant in Toronto, using one of his friends as the source for the information. This was meant to lead us to believe the Habs are looking for a veteran coach to help St-Louis in the near future, which would definitely be a logical step forward for the organization. Laraque also said he saw a picture confirming the meeting.

Shortly after Laraque’s announcement, Renaud Lavoie claimed the information was false.

Contrary to what’s being reported, no member of the @CanadiensMTL organization met with Gerard Gallant in Toronto or elsewhere.

— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) November 11, 2024

The rumour was then officially shot down by Guillaume Lefrancois, who discussed the situation with Hughes himself. “I have never spoken to Gallant in my entire life,” explained the Canadiens GM. “The last time I saw him was at the awards ceremony in Las Vegas, when he won the Jack Adams. This is not accurate information.”

Not only did the Canadiens finally earn their first win of the month on Monday against the Buffalo Sabres, they responded quite well to the multiple instances of adversity.

In many games this season, the Canadiens immediately close down the shop once opposing team’s take control of the momentum, but that was certainly not the case during the much-needed 7-5 win. It should also be noted Cole Caufield now leads the NHL in goals (12), and the newly formed top line of Kirby Dach, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Salfkovsky had a great.  [Canadiens Instant Recap: Top Line Chemistry, Caufield Leads NHL]

Former Canadiens captain Shea Weber will be part of the 2024 Hockey Hall of Fame induction class this week, but we should not forget about play-by-play legend Pierre Houde, who will enter the HHoF alongside Scott Burnside. Houde will be recognized with the  Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster. [Canadiens Tribute: Pierre Houde Represents The Best Of Us]

National Hockey Now Network

Six times in 12 games, the Pittsburgh Penguins have earned a two-goal lead and promptly yielded at least two unanswered goals. They’ve bookended the sextuplet of games with wins over the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals, but the in-between has been uglier than any other team in the league. [Pittsburgh Penguins]

When things were not going all that well for Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers, the only thing that mattered was the end result. [Florida Panthers]

The wait is finally over: standout rookie Matvei Michkov, the reigning NHL Rookie of the Month, will be returning to the Philadelphia Flyers lineup ahead of Monday’s game against the San Jose Sharks following a two-game benching. [Philadelphia Flyers]